About us

We focus on Leadership through Dialogue, Mastering Decision Making, and Impacting societies using indigenous wisdom.

Klaus Elle

Visual Process Manager

Artist and philosopher Klaus Elle was born in Leipzig, East Germany. He has worked as a professional artist for over 30 years. He plays a key role in our Lekgotla processes, helping to facilitate all kinds of dialogues thanks to his unconventional views and contagious imaginative skills. His input enables people to see how they may adopt a holistic approach. Using art he helps participants of our kgotla sessions access the wisdom they hold inside themselves by helping them become aware of the role their conscious and unconscious, and rational and emotional, processes play in their approach to decision‐taking, change or their lives and work in general.

Martijn de Liefde

Founder & Chief Facilitator

Martijn is the founder of Kgotla®. A flexible thinker, his experience covers a broad range of work, including branding and real estate. He began his career at ABN AMRO Real Estate, before moving on to serve as the Corporate Real Estate Director for Europe & Emerging Markets for VNU Acnielsen; the Marketing Director of a WPP-owned branding company called KSDP Design Amsterdam; and as Sales and Marketing Director for Allen International – a design firm specializing in retail banking. He has traveled extensively around the world and accumulated a great understanding of cultures and diversity.

Laurens Hoekstra

L&D Specialist Kgotla Foundation

Laurens is Kgotla’s Learning and Development Specialist and has over twenty years of experience as a teacher, trainer, coach and manager in the educational field, international consulting, business development, and project leadership. He acquired extensive managerial experience and played an integral role in leading a variety of large-scale education reform projects in the Netherlands, United Arab Emirates, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia. As an executive board member of the nonprofit Kgotla Foundation, Laurens ensures that the organization carries out its charitable mission and complies with the requirements of its status.

Samson Setumo

Chief Facilitator Botswana

Samson Setumo is a BQA accredited trainer for Applied Drama & Theatre Skills, Strategic Management, Business Coaching and Training. He is also Co of Firebrand group Botswana and shareholder in Kgotla Botswana, representing the Kgotla Company locally. He is strongly involved in the development of the Kgotla Institute, to futher develop and promote the indigenous Knowledge of the Chieftaincy in Botswana for international groups on behalf of the Kgotla Company.

Lotte Roelofs

Event Manager

Auke Mak

Audio Visual Team

Robbert Mak

Audio Visual Team

How we work

The Kgotla transformation process flow consists of nine phases and 18 steps to liberate the energy in a social system resulting in unexpected solutions. We work in an authentic and unorthodox way. We are facilitators not consultants that advice you what to do. We strongly believe in three key steps.

1 Develop a dream that is inspiring and tangible. A dream and long term themes that you as a team of directors of your organisation would like to discuss with all people.

2 Train your team in dialogue facilitation the Kgotla way. We believe that large scale interventions and moderators should come from within to ensure that the knowledge of the process stays in the organisation. We facilitate this so-called creator process. The main purpose is to find out the opinions of the people at an early stage, so the key questions and themes can be practiced by the creators.

3 Following the Kgotla interventions (450 people per day maximum) we will guide the leadership teams to hold their personal Division or department Kgotla interventions. Also we assist the chief during the decision making process as well as ensure the decisions are implemented throughout the entire organisation.

Our story

Indigenous knowledge turned into a business model. For Martijn de Liefde, founder of the Kgotla Foundation, Botswana is the most important leadership learning destination in the world. In fact he wants to move his worldwide headquarters from Amsterdam to Gaborone. Kgotla is an open dialogue technique that has been used in Botswana for centuries. The Kgotla Foundation uses these techniques to help leaders and organisations deal with complex problems.

Our History

Martijn de Liefde was inspired to set up The Kgotla Company in February 2003 because of his experience with Kgotlas in Botswana. He realised leaders take decisions much more easily if they harness the expertise of everyone that decision will affect. Leaders and their workers inspire each other and decisions are supported by the entire community.

Our Core Values

Humanity

It’s surprising what people are prepared to invest in a relationship if they truly feel that others really care about them, and go the extra mile.

Dignity

Humanity and dignity are allies. A leader is able to take a vulnerable position. In this way he appeals to people’s human dignity.

Trust

Give selflessly and be able to listen without prejudice. Listen with empathy and shared intimacy. Where there is trust, there is no place for fear.

Courage

It’s surprising what people are prepared to invest in a relationship if they truly feel that others really care about them, and go the extra mile.

Respect

Respect is founded on a deeply felt desire to engage people actively. Respect makes it possible for people to identify things that have gone wrong and create conditions to speak openly with one another.

I am, because we are

Entrepreneurs look beyond themselves, and will add value to the community and society. It appeals to everyone’s sense of responsibly based on the conviction that one is capable of making improvements themselves.